All employees who are members of any reserve component of the
armed forces of the United States or of the Tennessee National
Guard shall be entitled to a leave of absence from their duties for
all periods of military service during which they are engaged in
the performance of duty or training in the service of this State,
or of the United States, under competent orders as stipulated in
U.S.C. Title 38, § 4311-4318 and T.C.A.
§ 8-33-101 through 8-33-109 and
58-1-106.

An employee or applicant for employment, who performs, applies
to perform, or has an obligation to serve in a uniformed service
shall not, on that basis, be denied employment or reemployment or
be discriminated or retaliated against for such service or
application for service in any manner.

I. Definitions

"Military Duty" means (i) training and service performed by an
inductee, enlistee, or reservist or any entrant into a temporary
component of the armed forces for the United States; and (ii) time
spent in reporting for and returning from such training and
service, or if a rejection occurs, from the place of reporting for
such training and service. "Military Duty" also includes active
duty training as a reservist in the armed forces of the United
States or as a member of the national guard of the United States
when the call is for training only.

II. Military Leave with
Pay

Each employee who is on military leave shall be paid his or
her salary or compensation for a period, or periods, not
exceeding twenty (20) working days in any one (1) calendar year.

Holidays and scheduled off duty days do not count toward the
twenty (20) workdays allowed.

During the 20 day period the employee continues to earn
regular pay, service credit, and applicable annual and/or sick
leave accruals. All other rights and benefits continue to which
the employee is otherwise entitled.

A regular employee who has exhausted the 20 days of paid
leave in any one calendar year may elect to use accrued annual
leave. In addition, a regular employee may use accrued sick leave
if the employee provides proof to the president or his/her
designee that he/she was sick while serving in the armed forces.

An employee on terminal leave is entitled to use his/her
twenty (20) days of paid military leave with no loss of rights or
benefits to which the employee is otherwise entitled.

Employees must furnish certification from competent military
authority of the dates active duty was actually performed.

Longevity credit will not be affected.

Employees are entitled to additional paid leave if called to
active duty pursuant to T.C.A. § 58-1-106

III. Military Leave
with Partial Pay

Military Leave with Partial Pay shall be granted to all
employees who are called to active duty by the President of the
United States or under the authority of a Governor as members of
the Reserve or National Guard as provided by applicable Tennessee
Executive Orders.

Partial pay shall be the difference between the employee's
regular state salary and the employee's full-time military
salary.

Affected employees shall remain state employees while on such
active duty for the purpose of (a) accruing sick leave, (b)
accruing annual leave, (c) accruing longevity pay which shall
continue to be paid to the employee annually, and (d) accruing
retirement time. Earnable compensation and retirement benefits
shall be not increased or decreased by any partial payment made
pursuant to this section. The period of absence while on military
duty shall count toward the minimum twelve (12) months and 1,250
hours required that an employee work for eligibility for leave
under the Family Medical Leave Act.

Military leave without pay shall be granted to all employees
for periods of active duty or training activity with the armed
forces of the United States, its reserve components or the
Tennessee National Guard for periods beyond the twenty (20) days
of paid leave in a calendar year.

Military leave without pay shall be granted to employees
voluntarily entering the regular components of the Armed Forces
of the United States.

During a period of unpaid military leave, a regular employee
retains all accumulated annual and/or sick leave.

Longevity credit will not be affected.

V. Reemployment
rights

With exceptions noted in the regulations, an employee may
perform service in the uniformed services for a cumulative period
of up to five (5) years and retain reemployment rights. (20
C.F.R. 1002.99 " 1002.103)

An employee leaving for military service must give his/her
employer advance notice of his/her intent to leave the employment
position for uniformed service unless giving such notice is
prevented by military necessity or is otherwise impossible or
unreasonable under all the circumstances. The notice may be
either verbal or written, may be informal, and does not need to
follow any particular format. (20 C.F.R. 1002.85 " 1002.86)

An employee leaving for military service cannot be required
to decide at that time whether he/she intends to return to that
employer but may defer that decision until after completing the
period of service. An employee who indicates intent not to seek
reemployment following military service may change his/her mind
and not forfeit reemployment rights. (20 C.F.R. 1002.88)

Reemployment must occur promptly, no later than within two
weeks of the employee's application for reemployment.

An employee on military leave of absence who is relieved or
discharged from military duty under circumstances other than
dishonorable shall be entitled to reemployment rights as follows:

1. if the employee served less than 31 days, or was absent
for a period of any length for the purpose of an examination to
determine his or her fitness to perform service, the employee
must report back to the employer not later than the beginning
of the first full regularly-scheduled work period on the first
full calendar day following the completion of the period of
service, and the expiration of eight (8) hours after a period
allowing for safe transportation from the place of that service
to the employee's residence. For example, if the employee
completes a period of service and travel home, arriving at ten
o "clock in the evening, he or she cannot be required to report
to the employer until the beginning of the next full
regularly-scheduled work period that begins at least eight
hours after arriving home, i.e., no earlier than six o "clock
the next morning. If it is impossible or unreasonable for the
employee to report within such time period through no fault of
his or her own, he or she must report to the employer as soon
as possible after the expiration of the eight-hour period.

2. if the employee served between 31 and 180 days and makes
an oral or written request for reemployment no more than 14
days after completing service.

3. if the employee served more than 180 days and makes an
oral or written request for reemployment no more than 90 days
after completing service.

An injured employee must comply with the notification
procedures determined by the length of service, after the time
period required for the person's recovery. The recovery period
may not exceed two (2) years unless circumstances beyond the
person's control make notification within the two-year period
impossible or unreasonable. (20 C.F.R. 1002.116)

An employee who fails to report or apply for reemployment
within the timeframes described above does not automatically
forfeit entitlement to reemployment, but will be subject to the
System's policy regarding unauthorized absence from work. 20
C.F.R. 1002.117

The president or his/her designee may request that employees
applying for reemployment submit documentation to substantiate
that:

1. the employee's application is timely; and

2. the employee's entitlement to reemployment has not been
terminated due to dishonorable or bad conduct discharges.

3. the employee has been fully discharged to return to
employment.

If the employee fails to provide requested
documentation,

1. it shall not be a basis for denying reemployment if the
documentation does not exist or is not readily available at the
time requested by the employer;

2. the employer may terminate the employee and any rights or
benefits provided under this policy should documentation become
available that establishes the employee does not meet one or more
of the requirements in Section V.D above.

VI. Reemployment to Position

A. An employee who was released under conditions other than
dishonorable shall be eligible for reemployment as follows:

As a general rule, the employee is entitled to reemployment
in the job position that he or she would have attained with
reasonable certainty if not for the absence due to uniformed
service. This position is known as the escalator position. (20
C.F.R. 1002.191)

Once the escalator position is determined, other factors and
elements may have to be considered to determine the appropriate
reemployment position. This may include the employee's length of
service, qualifications, and disability, if any, as well as
seniority, status, and rate of pay that the employee would
ordinarily have attained in that position given his or her job
history, including prospects for future earnings and advancement.
(20 C.F.R. 1002.192-193)

If an opportunity for promotion or eligibility for promotion
requiring a skills test was missed, the employee will receive a
reasonable amount of time to adjust to the employment position
prior to the skills test being administered. (20 C.F.R.
1002.192-193)

The USERRA does not prohibit lawful adverse job consequences
that result from the employee's restoration on the seniority
ladder. (20 C.F.R. 1002.194)

If the employee's period of service was less than 91 days,
the employee is reemployed in the escalator position. If the
employee is not qualified for the escalator position, and after
reasonable efforts by the employer, remains not qualified, the
employee will be employed in the position he or she was employed
on the date that the period of service began. If the employee is
not qualified to perform either the escalator position or the
pre-service position, after reasonable efforts by the employer,
the employee will be reemployed in any other position that is the
nearest approximation first to the escalator position, and then
to the pre-service position. In all instances, the employee must
be qualified to perform the duties of this position and the
employer must make reasonable efforts to help the employee become
qualified to perform the duties of the position (20 C.F.R.
1002.196)

If the employee's period of service was more than 91 days,
the employee is reemployed in the escalator position, or a like
position. If the employee is not qualified for the escalator
position or the like position, and after reasonable efforts by
the employer, remains not qualified, the employee will be
employed in the position he or she was employed on the date that
the period of service began, or a like position. If the employee
is not qualified for any of the above referenced positions, the
employee will be reemployed in any other position that is the
nearest approximation first to the escalator position, and then
to the pre-service position. In all instances, the employee must
be qualified to perform the duties of this position and the
employer must make reasonable efforts to help the employee become
qualified to perform the duties of the position (20 C.F.R.
1002.197)

Efforts required of the employer to help the employee become
qualified for the reemployment position(s) must be reasonable.
TBR is not required to reemploy an employee upon his or her
return from service if he or she cannot qualify for the
appropriate reemployment position. If the employee cannot become
qualified for the escalator position, the employee must be
reemployed in a position of equivalent seniority, status and pay
that the employee is qualified to perform or could reasonably
become qualified to perform. If no such position exists, the
employee must be placed in a job that is similar in terms of
seniority, status and pay consistent with the employee's
circumstances.

(a) "Qualified " means that the employee has the ability to
perform the essential tasks of the position. The employee's
inability to perform one or more non-essential tasks of a
position does not make him or her unqualified.

(b) Whether a task is essential depends on several factors,
and these factors include but are not limited to:

(i) The employer's judgment as to which functions are
essential;

(ii) Written job descriptions developed before the hiring
process begins;

(iii) The amount of time on the job spent performing the
function;

(iv) The consequences of not requiring the individual to
perform the function;

(v) The terms of a collective bargaining agreement;

(vi) The work experience of past incumbents in the job;
and/or

(vii) The current work experience of incumbents in similar
jobs.

(c) Only after the employer makes reasonable efforts, as defined
in (20 C.F.R. 1002.5(i), may it determine that the employee is
not qualified for the reemployment position. These reasonable
efforts will be made at no cost to the employee. Source: 20
C.F.R. 1002.198

Consideration of seniority in re-employment decisions is
limited to situations involving re-employment following a period
of documented military leave. Although provided for by the state
military leave statute, "seniority " is not a factor in
employment decisions unrelated to military leave, nor is
seniority (apart from longevity) recognized under TBR system or
institutional policy.

B. If two or more persons are entitled to reemployment in the
same position and more than one of them has reported for
reemployment, the person who left the position first shall have the
right to the position. The remaining employee (or employees) is
entitled to be reemployed in a position similar to that in which
the employee would have been employed, according to the rules that
normally determine a reemployment position, as set out above. (20
C.F.R. 1002.199)

VII. Retention
Rights

If the employee's most recent period of service in the uniformed
services was more than 30 days, he or she must not be discharged
except for cause:

for 180 days after the employee's date of reemployment if his
or her most recent period of uniformed service was more than 30
days, but less that 181 days; or

for one (1) year after the date of reemployment if the
employee "s most recent period of uniformed service was more than
180 days.(20 C.F.R. 1002.247)

VIII. Continuation
of Benefits

A returning employee is entitled to the same rights and benefits
he/she would have had if employment had been continuous.

A. Insurance

If elected, medical insurance coverage may be continued
during a period of military service for the lesser of:

(a) 24 months following the beginning of the military leave;

(b) the period beginning on the date on which the employee "s
absence begins until the day after the date on which the employee
fails to report to work or apply for employment as determined in
Section IV.A.; or,

(c) unless state law or Executive Order provides for greater
benefits.

If coverage is continued, the employee will be required to
pay premiums as follows:

(a) 30 or less days of service - employee's portion of the
premium only or

(b) more than 30 days of service " up to 102%. This includes
the employee's and employer's portion of the premium, and 2% for
administrative costs. (20 C.F.R. 1002.166)

(c) If the employee elects to discontinue insurance coverage,
a waiting period may not be imposed for reinstatement of coverage
upon reemployment if a waiting period would not have been imposed
had coverage not been terminated.

(d) USERRA allows a health plan to impose an exclusion or
waiting period for illnesses or injuries determined by the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs to have been incurred in, or
aggravated during the performance of military duty. (20 C.F.R.
1002.168)

(e) Continuation of other State insurance plans will be
determined by the State Division of Insurance Administration.
Continuation of System plans will be in accordance with the
provisions of the plan(s).

B. Retirement

For retirement purposes, a returning employee is considered as
not having a break in service, except as noted in Section IV.B.

Following an employee's return to work, the
institution/technology center/central office will make retirement
contributions which would have been made if employment had been
continuous, not to exceed five (5) years.

Contributions shall be made at the rate that would have been
made if employment had been continuous.

C. Rate of Pay

If the employee is reemployed in the escalator position, the
employee must be compensated at the rate of pay associated with the
escalator position by taking into account any pay increases,
differentials, step increases, merit increases or periodic
increases that the employee would have attained with reasonable
certainty had he or she remained continuously employed during the
period of service. Any pay adjustments must be made effective as of
the date it would have occurred had the employee's employment not
been interrupted by uniformed service. (20 C.F.R. 1002.236)

D. Longevity

During a period of military leave, a regular employee continues
to earn service credit for longevity pay. Upon reemployment, and in
accordance with the employer's payroll procedures, the employee
will receive all longevity pay that would have been paid if
employment had been continuous. (Refer to TBR Longevity Guideline
P-120.) However, pursuant to the current Executive Order, payments
must continue to be made annually.

E. Leave Accrual

A returning employee will begin to accrue leave at the rate(s)
that would have been in effect if employment had been
continuous.